Regular wastewater maintenance pays off
by Charlie Schwindamann, Wastewater Tech

There's no denying that all of us are likely to procrastinate from time to time. When we have jobs to do, it's only natural to tackle the most appealing first and push the tasks that we'd rather not do to the last minute. Regardless of our different careers, each of us has the opportunity in some way to put off or delay addressing some problems while we focus on those we believe are easier. It seems to me that it boils down to how we discipline ourselves.

Putting off maintenance jobs is a problem that gets many wastewater utilities in trouble. We end up being reactive rather than proactive.

Backlogs and backups

From my experience working with many communities, I've concluded that too few schedule a regular or routine cleaning of the collection system. Instead, most systems wait until there is a backup into someone's home or business. That's when KRWA or the neighboring town that has a cleaning machine often receives a call for help. Most of the time, and understandably so, the operators are not in a very pleasant mood when they call.

How might this problem have been prevented in the first place? Scheduling a cleaning of some percentage of the sanitary sewer mains each year would dramatically reduce backup problems. Weekend and night time calls to report backups would be rare or non-existent.

Stop burying the manholes and valves!

Last week, a system operator reported to KRWA that their small town went on a recent street-surfacing craze. Asphalt was laid right over all the valve boxes and manhole lids. Town council members may feel like heroes for the decision to resurface the streets, but someone should have jumped out in front of the contractor -- and frankly the contractor ought to have used better judgment than to overlay the manholes and water valve boxes.

So there's now one more town in Kansas where KRWA or someone can roam around with metal detectors along with the benefit of inadequate mapping to locate the city's infrastructure. Way to go, guys! Maybe, by some luck, the next sewer backup will be in the mayor's or a council member's home. Maybe they'll be out helping locate the manhole or valve box on a water line.

My comments are not to pit operators against councils but, folks, it's not rocket science. Do you nail your front door shut in the morning when you leave for work instead of just closing or locking your door? It's the same problem: Lack of common sense.

Regardless of the cost for performing some routine maintenance of your sanitary sewer system, it's something that every system should do. I will guarantee you that if you ever have to clean raw sewage from a basement you will NEVER want to be involved in such an operation again. Of course, you can ask, "What's that guy know?" Well, I assure you I've been there. I know I don't want to have to do that again, and neither would you.

Operators, communicate

Operators, if your town council members believe they want the best community possible, then it's your job to help achieve that. Operators need to communicate what the needs of the water and wastewater utilities are. With some luck, one or two council members may listen. Invite the council to come out at 10 at night to deal with the irate citizen who calls in about a sewer backup. Do remind them to bring their boots and gloves along to help clean up.

Board/council decisions. Let your board/council know what your plan would cost. You know that designing and implementing a routine sanitary sewer maintenance schedule will help your system operate efficiently. The maintenance schedule includes equipment. Has anyone discussed the need for financial planning with the mayor or city council so that when a pump fails, there'll be money for repairs or replacement? You probably need to be aware that sewer mains as well as water mains only last so long. Most sewer systems have a life expectancy of 35 to 50 years. Many communities have mains well over 100 years old for water and 75+ years for sewers.

Establishing a regular routine maintenance program will take more than one motion at the next council meeting. I'd be pleased to help any community review what they've done, what may need to be done and how to go about it. Just give me a call through KRWA at 785-336-3760.

There are other resources too, including KDHE, service companies, etc. Also, talk to other operators at training sessions and at the KRWA conference.

Ahead of or behind the curve?

The bottom line is that the choice is yours to either be proactive or reactive. You can design a collection system cleaning maintenance schedule or you can fight raw sewage in basements. You can ask KRWA to come and measure sludge in your lagoons (at no charge to your city or wastewater utility), or you can be "greatly surprised" when one day, well, shall we say literally pile up? By the way, wastewater ponds should be measured every 20 to 30 years depending on use. When you have the measurements, file that information so that future councils or operators will know what the results are. KRWA also smoke tests the sanitary sewer system to find Inflow & Infiltration (I&I) problems.

Finding and fixing these problems will reduce the amount of unnecessary storm water your pumps and your system will have to treat. If you are going to build a new treatment facility, reducing your I&I could save your system a tremendous amount of money.

KRWA provides economical smoke testing for wastewater systems. Why do high dollar studies when we can identify the obvious broken pipes first? As of January 15, KRWA already has a list of 27 cities requesting smoke testing in 2001. KRWA does this work in association with your employees. In 2000, KRWA completed smoke testing for 26 systems and checked the depth of sludge in 13 lagoon systems. We also assisted many other systems with technical advice on their wastewater utilities.

Give us a call so that we can meet and have a good discussion as to your system's possible needs. Too often people just don't understand the importance of maintenance of their wastewater utility.



From March 2001 issue of The Kansas Lifeline © 2001 KRWA

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